TotWare - Benjamin's Favorites

For other opinions, see what they're saying on
misc.kids.computer.
For a Web sites to visit with your child, see
the list compiled by Stephen Savitzky.

(We started this page in 1993 when both Benjamin and
the Web were younger. Lots of other folks now contribute
pages and reviews, too, so look around.)

Don't forget that shareware can be expensive
relative to a good commercial program,
since the latter often have many more activities.
For example, LetterLand is nicely done and only
costs $8.00 but may not be 1/4 as good as, say,
Bailey's Book House. (...Particularly when you
discover that it only has about 20 letters!)

A fine drawing /painting program for small kids.
This is fully functioning but black and white,
unlike the commercial version, which also has more features.
B&W can be an advantage if you don't have a color printer
and don't want the tots to be disappointed when you put
their oeuvre on the fridge.

Easy-to-use tools, in the spirit of KidPix, for making animations.
Only runs for 20 minutes or so and has disabled saves.
Available along with many other demos, some playable and some
for other platforms, from
the Internet Shopping Network.

This is the same general idea as Kids World above, but not
as easy to use for a very young child or as well executed,
though it does allow more control.
From Claris,
which has other demos and products available on-line.

Nature

Hypercard point-and-click stack with animals and their sounds.
Option to hide the desktop (to prevent accidental application
switching under System 7) and
"Small Kids Mode" which lets very young kids
navigate through by simply clicking (without pointing).

Letters and Numbers

Game to match letters and words to pictures, with counting
thrown in too. Colorful graphics and sound. Very engaging
and easy to play. Unfortunately, it doesn't even have the
whole alphabet. (The author said he didn't have nice pictures
for some of the letters!) Still worth trying.

Combination word matching and adventure type game.
Excellent graphics, lots of fun.
Main drawback is use of keyboard
instead of mouse, often requiring two keys simultaneously.
On the other hand, it's an interesting non-violent
reincarnation with style similar to Apogee's
Duke Nuke'em.
You can find other demos at this
Apogee archive.